Abortion battle bus rolls in to Northern Ireland
As Ireland celebrates the repeal of strict abortion laws, a battle bus arrives in Northern Ireland, bringing a futuristic measure to highlight the country’s continued restrictions. Norma Costello reports
Last week, the historic abortion ruling in Ireland left a bitter aftertaste: the fact that Northern Ireland was left with the same outdated laws. But the momentum of the Repeal campaign hasn’t stopped. Campaigners are travelling across Northern Ireland in the Bus 4 choice, demanding an extension of the UK’S 1967 Abortion Act to include Northern Ireland.
Spearheaded by ROSA (Reproductive rights against Oppression, Sexism and Austerity), the bus is bringing the women of Northern Ireland a futuristic solution to campaign with: robots controlled from the Netherlands to bring abortion pills into Belfast, effectively bypassing the law.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where abortion is still illegal and many women in crisis pregnancies rely on pills from the Dutch-based NGO Women on Web to terminate unwanted pregnancies. ‘It’s based on a law from 1861, enacted before women had the right to vote,’ says Rebecca Gomperts, founder of Women on Web. ‘It’s crazy. But this medication is only illegal if they can prove the woman who takes it is pregnant, and how can they do that? By violating her human rights and forcing her to have a pregnancy test?’
Following the referendum, feminist organisations have increased pressure on Northern Ireland’s politicians to relax the
law with the support of activists from the Republic. ‘ We wanted to show solidarity,’ says Thomas White, 21, from Dublin. ‘ We won the fight for bodily autonomy and they’re facing the same struggle.’ Cerys Falvey, 21, says politicians are trying to divide supporters down sectarian lines: ‘It’s all just tit-for-tat. Sinn Fein claim to support women’s rights but stay away from any action, and the rest talk about being pro-life, but that doesn’t reflect the views of ordinary people. People are sick of all this nonsense.’
While the bus went on to campaign in other cities, as of last Thursday, the robots were in police custody. Gomperts plans to fight for them while thinking of new ways to use international law to circumvent the abortion rules – including sending pill packages to those in need: ‘ We expect the police to knock on the doors of the activists that took the pill. It’s a silly exercise, but part of the ongoing campaign of intimidation.’